BLUM, ABRAHAM:

French major; born in 1823; died at Boulogne, France, in 1894. He distinguished himself in the Crimean war in 1854, having been wounded in the shoulder, and received from the sultan the Order of Medidje. Upon his return to France, where he had been counted among the fallen on the battle-field, he was accorded the cross of the Legion of Honor.

In 1859 Blum left for Italy to participate in the war with Austria; was again wounded at the battle of Solferino, and then promoted on the field to the rank of captain. Having retired in 1870 as chief of battalion, he was appointed, at the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian war, adjutant-major of the National Guard of Paris. In 1875 he received an appointment in the newly organized territorial army.